The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-02-15
ILLINOIS PIONEERS.
MANNER OF LIVING BY THOSE WHO
FIRST BROKE THE PRAlRiES.
The Building of the Log Cabin-Furni-
ture of the Interior-MOrtar and
sweep" for Grinding Corn-Going to
Mill-ClOthing.

sweep" for Grinding Corn-Going to
MiII-CIothing.
Pioneer life takes its shape from the sur
rOundings Southern Illinois differed from
the other western states III being distant
from large towns, without public convey
ance, having IA climate neither cold nor
warm, having a nearly even mixture OF
woodland and prairie and being settled by
emigrants from the south.
The houses were mostly round pole cabins
not the huge poplar logs they had used in
the south, but such a. they could get. Some
times the walls were ''shelped down." OF
very sl> htly hewn, and sometimes the walls
We're built of split logs slnoothed little on
the face. Some of the cracks in these walls
were chinked and daubed while some were
left open to admit light. Windows were
nearly quite unknown Some of the
cabins had cracks all around that dog
could jump through" Ii the floor was any
thing else than bare ground il was made Of
puncheons or slabs, split out and smOothed
IA little with a chopping axe, and fastened
down with wooien pins or not fastened at
all. There were but three ''sleepers' to the
floor one at each end and one i'll the middle.
The roof was not nailed and had no rafters.
At the caves the end logs projected at each
corner "a foot or two beyond the walls and
on the ends Of these rested logs, one on each
side; and these were called ''buttin' poles,
because the ends of the first course of boards
butted against them. Several courses of
| logs were then put up, the gables, of course,
| upright, while the side logs wer3 drawn in
| to shape the roof" On these logs clapboards
were laid four foot boards being generally
| used, and held down by weight poles" A
| pole was laid on each course of boards, and
| these poles were kept in place by blocks or
| sticks set up bet them, called knees. !"
The chimney was of split logs below and
| small sticks higher up, with a stone, some
times only dirt, fireplace. Sometimes
| there loft, made by laying clapboards
on tho joists: sometimes not; and then the
joists-generally pOles-were convenient for
| hanging up deer and deer skins, etc. Shelves
| resting on long pins i'll the walls answered
| for cupboard, pantry, bure Al and wardrobe
| as everything that might not well bee on
| the floor slowed away on these shelves.
There were but few betisteads in the coun-
| try Bed scaffolds'' made two
| rails or pieces driven into the walls, one for
the side and one for the end, in the corner
| of the cabin, the other ends of these rails
| being let into post, the entire structure
frequently having but one bed post. Boards
| were laid across from the long rail to the
wall, or from rail to rail, and on these the
| bed-if the happy family had anyways laid
| The table was either made of boards nailed
|
on stakes driven into the ground. e., the
| floor Meat WAS plenty, but breadstuff was
| at first brought from the older settlements ON
| the Mississippi, Ohio or Wabash. Some had
| little hand mills that would grind a bushel
or two of corn in a day, and they did well.
| But many had To beat this meal in mortar.
| One family had big kettle which they used
for n mortar, but generally the mortar was
stump with a basin burned out in the top
of it. Over this was suspended on a sweep
| huge billet of wood. This billet was
| brought down upon the grain i'll the mortar,
| the sweep raised IL, and 50, thump, thump,
| the pounding went till the grain was
| broken small enough to make bread. An
| other style of mortar WAS made of a large
| block, and the pestle was maui with an
iron wedge in the end of it. This WAS used
| in bad wsather, as it could be brought in
doors, and it cut the grain rapidly. The
meal was sifted through sieve, made by
| punching IA piece of deerskin full of holes
with hot spindle and stretching it over a
| hoop. In the early autumn meal was grated,
and the bread made of this meal and baked
on bard or in the ashes was az delicious as
heart could wish But finer delicacies than
these were sometimes prepared Meal was
''sarched''-that is, it was beaten very fine,
then it was put into a cloth OF loose, open
texture, and a much possible sifted and
beaten out through the cloth. This was
Searched" meal and it was nearly as fine as
| -four.
Most of the hats caps worn were made
of skins, often Of the most fantastic shapes,
but in summer the straw hat was common.
The hats the men brought to this country
| with them We're worn Sunday. As the
| original supply Of clothing began to fail, the
first resource was to make clothes OF deer
| skins Those in the hands of the Indians
made excellent clothing; but our first set
tiers We're not such good tanners, and the
clothes did not do well. The brooches
| soon got tremendous knee thai was "A per
manent thing. When the men or boys wen;
out into the grass while the dew on, the
brooches would soon be dangling around
their feet; and then about 10 o clock, or
sooner, when they became dry again, they
| rustled and cracked about their knees as
! much too short MOccasins were almost
| universally worn-often being made for
winter use of skins with the hair on. In
warm weather all went barefoot.
Most of the leisure time was spent in visit
ing or hunting, horse races and protracted
| meetings. Much time was also spent in
going TO mill. A two bushel sack of corn
was shelled; long before daylight the next
morning the hustle of getting of began. So
"a to make the trip in one day If possible;
the sack was thrown across horse. man or
boy mounted and logged away, followed by
| many cautions about crossing the creeks
and much anxiety was felt if the boys failed
Ia get back the next night or the following
day.
/ had better describe one of the mills.
There is an open shed, open all around. In
the middle IA large post-say eighteen inches
| In dlameter-turns on a pivot IN a block set
| iii the ground, and is stayed by cross beams
at the top; this post, about two feet from
the ground, beam goes through and ex-
! tends eight or ten feet out at each end, and
to these the horses are hitched. About six
feet from the ground all round the post
sticks five OF six feet long with natural
| fork at the end are driven into auger holes
and ia these forks a raw hide round band OF
| rope works Some later mills had light
, wheel instead of these sticks This band goes
round little trundle head that turns the
milestone. The whole was out in the woods,